In Nashville, famed abolitionist William "Parson" Brownlow is inaugurated as 17th Governor of Tennessee

04/05/1865

On March 4, 1865, the famed Tennessee abolitionist and Methodist minister William "Parson" Brownlow had won a lopsided election as governor of his state. He was inaugurated at Nashville a month later and immediately sent the 13th Amendment to the legislature for ratification. Brownlow had stood courageously against the Confederacy and slavery during the war and had been exiled for his efforts. As governor, he in turn passed measures to restrict the political activity of former Confederates and banned the former Confederate uniform. (By John Osborne)